That's quite a run of parity. Four schools winning the championship in four seasons.

If TCU, picked to contend, wins in 2013, that would be five in five.

“I think we will have a very interesting year,” said Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby. “You look at the media poll, and Oklahoma State, our preseason pick, garnered 35 percent of the vote. We've kind of got Iowa caucus numbers in terms of people being all over everyplace, as compared to Alabama getting something over 75 percent of the votes in the SEC.”

It is Iowa caucus. Lots of horses out of the gate. By race's end, of course, the field is not so tight. K-State and OU finished three games ahead of the rest of the pack last season.

West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said that the Big 12's deep crop of quarterbacks in 2012 made for an interesting year, and the Big 12's lack of proven QBs in 2013 should do the same.

MORE FROM NEWSOK

by Berry Tramel

Columnist

Berry Tramel, a lifelong Oklahoman, sports fan and newspaper reader, joined The Oklahoman in 1991 and has served as beat writer, assistant sports editor, sports editor and columnist. Tramel grew up reading four daily newspapers — The Oklahoman,...